Required Knowledge of a Structural Engineer 1

[CWEngineer]

I am involved in designing Retaining Walls, Channels, Box Culverts, Floodwalls, Reinforced Concrete Pipes, Sheet Piles, Inlet and Outlet Strucutres, etc.

I am a junior engineer and constantly reading and doing research because I want to be as productive and knowledgeable in what I do.

I am curious to see what is the extend of structural engineer work you guys perform. In other words do guys have knowledge and are involved in all types of structural engineering, such designing steel/concrete bridges, designing wood houses, designing heavy civil works projects, designing steel building, desining concrete structures, designing mansory buildings etc. Or do you guys mainly concentrate in a field of structural engineering. I am trying to find out if you guys have detailed knowledge of all engineering subjects, such as concrete design, timber design, steel design, foundation engineering, etc. OR if you guys are specialized in a particular field.

Really appreciate your feedback. THANKS.

 

[hokie66]

No one can be an expert, or even have wide experience, in all aspects of structural engineering. But I think in general design engineers should strive to be as well rounded as possible, even if at the expense of not having all the specialist experience necessary for individual projects. You can always acquire further knowledge as necessary, both from available literature and from those who do become specialists.

Someone who does timber design will not acquire experience in high rise buildings and vice versa, but there will opportunities to work in both areas, as well as many others. Rather than divide experience by materials, I prefer to use the categories of civil structures (your current work), industrial structures, bridges, dwellings, and then buildings from low rise through medium rise to high rise.

I suppose I am an all-rounder, but that is after 40 years experience. And although I know a lot about some things, I don't consider myself an expert (unless testifying in court).

 

[msquared48]

Over the years, I haave touched pretty much all the aspects of Civil and Structurl engineering - surveying, land development, Stormwater, Dam design, Port Construction, Report WritingHigh Rises to Residences, Aluminum, Steel, Concrete, Masonry, Wood, you name it.

However, I have been mostly imnvolved in steel and Wood structures, and that is where my specialization has developed.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[msquared48]

Forgot to mention that if you are looking to get yourstructural license, you will have to get experience in most of those material design areas as the test does cover most of those materials - concrete, steel, wood, masonry, foundation, lateral, connections, etc. Don't specialize until AFTER you get your structural license.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[Dinosaur]

I work in the bridge industry. I know steel design, reinforced concrete design and prestressed concrete design. I know soil mechanics to a degree necessary to design a tied back sheet pile wall. I know generally about wood design and about siesmic design (even if I can't always spell it). I can do most of these things in either LFD, WSD and some in LRFD. Most importantly, I know statics, solid mechanics and indeterminant structural analysis like the back of my hand. I also know other related subjects not required for a structural engineer. In my opinion, structural engineers need to know twice as much as their other CE buddies.

 

[haynewp]

I have around 10 years experience and you can't be an expert at everything in structural engineering, I don't think it is possible even after a whole career. There is just too much information and ongoing research.

I am expected to be somewhat proficient in many materials because of the kind of work we do at the places I have been employed. Someone that specializes in doing one thing all the time (like prestressed concrete) can sometimes prove me wrong or have a better way of doing something. But I still get enjoyment out of diversity, I might specialize later. I have mostly done commercial and office buildings but have done a lot of other structures at least one time. You can make a whole career of just designing one thing, like metal buildings or parking decks. It is really up to what you want to do.

 

[frv]

If you work in the private sector, an essential skill is mind reading.

Architects expect this all the time.

 

[msquared48]

True - an essential skill for any client too dumb to communicate.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[tngolfer]

It will depend on the firm you work for. If the firm you work for does a lot of different kinds of projects, than you will most likely be introduced to many types of construction. I think it is good to have a broad knowledge of many types of construction so you can suggest to architects what type of construction would be most appropriate for a given project.

 

[CWEngineer]

How do you guys go about retaining all the knowledge for different materials (concrete, timber, steel, etc), different design methods (LRFD,ASD), seimic, connections, different codes,and different equations used based on a particular reference.

 

[ronster]

I design large custom houses in hurricane zones along with low to mid rise commercial buildings in the greater New York and Baltimore areas. I am involved with wood, steel, masonry, and concrete design on most projects. It is much easier now with engineering design software, one code (IBC), and the internet (this forum, AISC, and google) then it was 20 years ago. I keep a three ring binder on my desk with copies of all the helpful design guides, charts, refernces, codes, etc that I use on a day to day basis. This is seperate from the binders full of general info in my bookshelves that I go to for more obscure research. I do not get paid more to design in LRFD so I tend to stay with ASD design. Keeping up with earthquake and wind design is the most difficult but somewhat easier now that the codes have turned it over to ASCE 7.

 

[csd72]

gman,

As others have said above, you cannot know everything. I have had engineers with 30 years experience say to me that there is always more to learn.

To be a good engineer you really need to:
1. Understand the limitations of your knowledge and experience.
2. Take steps to expand that knowledge through reading and training, particularly in the area that you are currently practicing.
3. Never forget the fundamentals e.g different material characteristics, statics, physics and chemistry. These things always apply regardless of the specific structure and will always give you a good feel for when something is not right.

I would recommend that any new engineer get a hard cover note book and record all lessons learnt, rules of thumb, and useful formulii in it. I also jeep a ring binder with photocopies of important references. You can never have too much reference material.

 

[msquared48]

The key is not to remember everything, just know where to look, or who to ask, to find the answer.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering